On 28 October 2004, the European Commission announced the possible finding of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent in a goat, slaughtered in France in 2002 [1]. Tissue samples from the goat were sent to the European Community Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) reference laboratory (http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/vla/science/science-tse-rl-intro.htm) for further testing.

On 26 November, it was announced that a further 2 months were needed before all results could be interpreted [2]. To prepare for the eventuality that the goat is confirmed positive for the BSE agent, the Commission is consulting to decide what measures should be put in place. This potential event had already been considered in an opinion by the Scientific Steering Committee advising the European Commission in April 2002 [3].

Although the prion agent responsible for BSE has not been found to occur naturally in sheep and goats, both have been infected experimentally. It is likely that small ruminants ate the same feed that spread BSE in cattle in the 1980s and 1990s, and there is the concern that a BSE infection could be masked by scrapie, which occurs naturally in both sheep and goats. Earlier in 2004, an unusual TSE was detected in a sheep in the UK, although this was subsequently confirmed not to be caused by the same prion causing BSE [4].

Precautions already implementedAs a result of these concerns, removal of some specified risk material (SRM) has been implemented for sheep and goat carcasses, as well as cattle, for some time. Currently, the spleen and ileum of all sheep and goats are removed as SRM during meat processing. In addition, the skull, including brain and eyes, tonsils and spinal cord, are designated SRM in sheep and goats aged over 12 months.

An extensive monitoring and surveillance regime for scrapie and BSE has been in place for sheep and goats (http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/food/biosafety/bse/goats_index_en.htm ), and since 2002, over 1 million animals have been tested. Given this widespread testing, the finding of isolated cases of BSE would not indicate that there is a widespread problem. Furthermore, the goat population in the EU is very small (12.7 million compared with 89.2 million sheep in 2003). Among sheep, widespread testing has been done, mostly in the UK since it has the highest incidence of BSE, and all testing results so far have been negative.

For cattle, Regulation 999/2001 specified risk material is the tonsils, intestines from the duodenum to the rectum, and the mesentery in cattle of all ages, and the skull excluding the mandible but including the brains and eyes, and spinal cord, as well as the vertebral column in animals over 12 months old (certain extra measures apply to the UK) [5].

Proposed future precautionsA draft proposal for revised food safety measures if the finding of BSE in the goat is confirmed, was discussed at an EU TSE Working Group on 30 November 2004 and will be subject to further discussion in the coming months. One proposal is to extend the list of tissues that are designated as specified risk material (SRM) in goats of all ages to include:

* The whole alimentary canal

* The organs of the thoracic and abdominal cavities (including lymph nodes)

* The pre-femoral and pre-scapular lymph nodes

* The entire head

* The tonsils

Spinal cord would remain SRM in goats over 12 months old. These proposals would remove most of the tissues that are potentially infective.

If these proposals do become EU law, national domestic legislation would need to be changed accordingly. As the proposed revisions may apply to goats only, there will be the additional challenge of differentiating between sheep and goat carcasses after slaughter. A goat tag may be needed.

The proposals will be discussed at the EU Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (ScoFCAH), early in 2005.

References:

1. European Commission. Commission submits French Research Findings on TSE in a goat to Expert Panel, Press release IP/04/1324, 28 October 2004. (http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/04/1324&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en )

2. European Commission. Panel of scientists require more data to evaluate suspected case of BSE in a goat. Midday Express, 26 November 2004. (http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/library/press006_en.pdf) 3. European Commission Health & Consumer Protection Directorate-General. Opinion on safe sourcing of small ruminant materials (safe sourcing of small ruminant materials should bse in small ruminants become probable: genotype, breeding, rapid tse testing, flocks certification and specified risk materials). Adopted by the Scientific Steering Committee at its meeting of 4-5 April 2002. (http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/ssc/out257_en.pdf) 4. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Defra investigates an unusual scrapie case. Press release, 7 April 2004. (http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2004/040407b.htm) [accessed 21 April 2004] 5. Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Official Journal of the European Communities 2001; L 147/1: 31.5.2001. (http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2001/l_147/l_14720010531en00010040.pdf)